Well, apropos of NOTHING :D, I have gout and I also have a lypoma that I discovered on side/back over my lower ribs. It's aboput an inch in diameter and I can wiggle it around. I spotted it 15 years ago but wonder how long before I had it without noticing (need a mirror to see it.) Of course the first fear is MALIGNANT TUMOR...but I know the odds are for benign lypoma so I waited. It just laid there for 15 years with no changes...so I guess I'll LIVE> :D:D


Phlox,
Ask your doctor for colchicine. Teeny pills that you take 2 of at the first sign of an acute gout attack. Sometimes that is enough to abort the attack. If the attack is too long underway, then you take one pill every hour until the pain stops to a max of 16. The pills cause diarrhea and if you go over 16 you will feel like your iinternal organs are being ripped out and flushed down the toilet (I took 22 before I learned this...OY, must be what cholera feels like.)
I think it is the oldest drug known to mankind and it WORKS.

Is there ANY pain worse than the pain of gout in your big toe. I assume you're taking allopurinol daily.

There have been MANY studies implicating gout with heart disease...the most likely connection being the inflammatory effect of the razor sharp crystals on the inside of the coronary vessels. I don't know of any WHY'S to the connection with the ear creases...they seem to be one of life's mysteries.

(Beware diuretics if you have gout.)

Hi Lenin! :)

Hmm...interesting post! I had a strange Doctors Appt. yesterday so mine will be lengthy, I hope you have a comfy chair? Hehe, sorry, Im in a silly mood this morning! Youre right about the Gout pain though--wow, who would have thought something like that could hurt so bad--until you experience it. Although I'd had a few prior gout attacks that werent too bad, this last one was like all the previous COMBINED in pain and duration. Talk about scary...especially the heart rate, as you said OY, lol! Yes my Doc gave me some Colchicine that I really wish I'd had on me when the first tinges of pain came on, but I didnt have, and couldnt get, any for several days--and by then it was too late. Again, OY! :D

The Allopurinol though, I had a few problems with. This will be lengthy, grab a P.B. & J. if youre hungry, hehe! :D First Im not sure the PA gave it to me at the right time--I was told to start taking it when I went in for the Colchicine, and from what I read later on it isnt supposed to be started during an attack, more like a month or so after. It also made me itch, and Im not sure if thats allergy or because of the timing, but I am not currently taking it. Its another reason Im a bit scared of the "Heart" connection--if Im having a problem with Uric Acid and its not taken care of, I am afraid of those horrible heart rates returning (or worse) if I have another Gout Attack. I could always take 22 Colchicine, but this guy on the internet told me that may not be in my best interests, hehehe!

Add to that, that my HMO/Doctors Office is going through some turmoil where some Doctors suddenly left and its all a mess (not the first time that place has had drama like this, they cant keep doctors there for some reason)....now theyre even starting to turf patients (Turf, that sounded medical, no? Haha!) to specialists if they were patients of the doctors that left (my doc was one of them). The PA was telling me about this yesterday morning, and not only does it sound ridiculous, even SHE said it is ridiculous how theyre sending patients to specialists just because they cant handle the load. Sounds crazy, considering theyre a pretty big place with alot of patients, yet the drama in there is worse than that Greys Anatomy show, lol!

Either way I left confused on whether or not I should try to take the Allopurinol again (I was only on it a few days, but she wasnt sure and wished she could have me see a doc, so she said I should ask the General Surgeon who is checking my GB in a few weeks--she admitted that was a pitiful option, but the only one for now supposedly); I also left confused on whether I really have High Blood Pressure or if its from my symptoms; and left still wondering whether those symptoms Im having is a Gall Bladder problem or something with my heart (RUQ discomfort + Chest pressure at times, but no problem with foods causing anything). If I knew this was all Gall Bladder related I wouldnt worry, but I cant help but wonder if its something with the Heart...she doesnt think its my heart because of my age (Im in my mid 30's), but that doesnt comfort me when those symptoms occasionally come with bouts of fatigue, chest pressure, and jaw pain together....thats where my fear about this possibly being a Heart problem not under control, comes from.

I think Im going to have to find a new doctors office, this being in limbo on how to proceed isnt good. I keep telling myself its no biggie that I can just head to the ER if something bad happens, but I also know that is not exactly the greatest idea, to be counting on THAT as my "prevention/treatment" for the time being, lol. Off for now, take care Lenin, and do NOT use your Colchicine as ice cream sprinkles! They taste awful, plus this guy on the internet told me...(hehe) :p

Hi Phlox,
The chest pain is very likely an echo from your gallbladder...it can refer discomfort all over...even your shoulders so it's probaly NOT your heart. (I recommend you do a GB flush BEFORE your visit with the man with the knife:D...check the Liver Board.

Allopurinol is the mainstay of gout treatment. It's really the only drug that makes the body MAKE less uric acid. Allergies are RARE, but potentially serious and itching is a first sign. The "serious" part comes with angioedema...swelling face, liips, tongue and airways. I HOPE you can take it because I've been on it for 20 years and it hasn't bit me yet. IF you want to take it while in the midst of an attack it is wise to take each allopurinol with ONE colchicine...in fact there is an Rx preparation that combines the drugs.
There are other drugs that cause the body to EXCRETE more uric acid but these are related to penicillin so the problem with cross allergy is more likely and more dangerous.
But you HAVE to do something. Untreated gout WILL eventually kill by destroying the kidneys with razor sharp "needles" of uric acid. What it does to the joints along the way is also a nightmare. The pain goes from being acute to an unending chronic pain. AND it is very impicated in heart disease: an AWFUL disease that has been put on the back burner only because allopurinol is such a WONDER DRUG. Alas, after decades of allopurinol it is beginning to show some long term side-effects, perhaps some immune system compromise. (Fingers crossed.)

Next suspected gout attack (notice it's ALWAYS at 5 AM) pop 2 colchicine and go back to bed. If your foot still feels wonky when you awaken take another.

My last big attack lasted 9 days before I BEGGED for a call-in Rx for colchicine...pain stopped in 22 hours (and 22 pills! :D) That was about 10 years ago now...hooray.

Oh, here's a BIGGIE...if you have gout you diuretics MAY be contraindicated. HCTZ precipitated mine. But for me, diuretics are a a must if I want to control my BP..